


Climbing Ivy

by m_diia



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cigarettes, Depression, F/F, Human AU, Self-Esteem Issues, some shady stuff from yellow as always, well.... peridot meets a lot of hot ladies and is.. torn.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-24 07:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13806723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_diia/pseuds/m_diia
Summary: She held a cigarette between her fingers. Her lipstick was bloodred, her eyeliner sharp and dark. She was built strong, muscular arms hidden behind rolled-up leather sleeves. Patches of light brushed her skin, leaving her face a galaxy of colour, shades colliding.. and then there were her eyes— gorgeous gold depths that seemed to shift and suck Peridot in- but she didn't look long, focusing on the flier behind her.All her life, Peridot Olivine has been good. She has done her homework, washed the dishes, kept her room tidy, did what she was supposed to, when she was supposed to, and never stood out. That has to change, and it does, it changes the second she sees the job flier. 'LOOKING FOR AN UNCONVENTIONAL WORKPLACE?' And well, Peridot thinks. She could use the cash.





	1. i. she dared not vanish

Peridot was tired of never being seen.

Figuratively, of course. Peridot was certainly _opaque_ , not see-through in any way. But god, it sometimes felt like she was. 

She was in her first year of college, and she was being completely and utterly lost to a swarm of students smarter than her, more athletic than her, more outspoken than her. Peridot was unremarkable— with a medium-toned face, impish features, and a sea of freckles, all hidden behind large, dark-framed glasses that she was sure did her no favours. Her height could be described as 'the perfect height to lose in a crowd'. She dressed for comfort, not for style.

She was never invited to any parties, never the first to be chosen in a group, never part of a social circle or a valued member of a club. Her social life was completely unheard of. One could say it never existed, and Peridot certainly wouldn't deny their claims. How could she even think of taking offence? Her only friends, her whole life, had been textbooks.

Saying she was miserable would be overdramatic and a definite overstatement, but she wasn't happy, either. She was desperate for something. Some sort of change. Her whole life, she'd been working to do the right extracurriculars, take the right courses, get the right grades, all so she could get here, to this college, and now that she was here... well now what? She couldn't remember the last time she'd been genuinely  _excited_ about something; couldn't remember if she ever had been genuinely excited about something. Her skin itched. She longed for something more.

But here she was, one girl in her small apartment, alone in the dark. The only thing there to care was Netflix asking— 'Are you still watching?' There was a half-eaten bowl of cold ramen in her lap. Peridot's glasses slid down her nose a bit and she pushed them back up, a definite frown on her face. She pressed 'Continue watcihng' and numbly stared at her laptop screen. 

No more sitting in a crumb-covered bed, wrapped up in blankets. No more sitting and watching fictional people have all the adventures. 

It was time to do something.

* * *

 

After her classes, Peri went to the bus stop, something stirring in her chest. There was a bit of adrenaline pumping through her blood at the very prospect of doing something different. Her blood was rushing through her head. She was actually going to change the pattern she'd been following for the past 18 years of her life. She was going to take  _control_ of her life back. Who knew what could happen? Anything could.

She could have sex. She could write a book. She could bungee jump— even  _skydive!_  

Peri had a notebook full of various address she'd written down— those places filled with trampolines, the skydive simulator place. Cooking classes, dancing classes. Her mind went at 80 minutes an hour. These were things that were going to make her different, that were going to make her stand out. She remembered being a child, sitting next to her mother in the pews at church. She remembered whispering to her while the pastor was giving his sermon— "Mommy, why don't the other kids like me?"

And she still remembered the answer, too. "Because you're different, Peridot. People don't like others who are different. We fear what we don't know." 

But that hadn't been the problem. The problem had been she was too average. Too mediocre. The other kids didn't like her because they didn't know who she was. because Peridot didn't know who she was, only had enough sense to be ashamed of her lack of self. She would fix that now. Peridot walked, reading the graffiti on the walls as she did so. Then she did a double take, nearly tripping over her own foot. Standing there was the most gorgeous woman she'd ever seen.

She held a cigarette between her fingers. Her lipstick was bloodred, her eyeliner sharp and dark. She was built strong, muscular arms hidden behind rolled-up leather sleeves. Patches of light brushed her skin, leaving her face a galaxy of colour, shades colliding.. and then there were her eyes— gorgeous gold depths that seemed to shift and suck Peridot in— but she didn't look long, focusing on the flier behind her. 

"Nice, isn't it?" the woman spoke. Her voice was rumbly, low and deep and intoxicating. Peridot found herself moving closer. She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and tried not to stare. 

"What, the— the poster?" Peri stammered. She was a  _mess_ , blushing and stuttering, eyes focused on the other woman's muscles.

"Yeah, the poster," the woman nodded. She gestured to it, proudly. "That's my eye, there."

And indeed, the poster had a large, golden eye on it. 'LOOKING FOR AN UNCONVENTIONAL WORKPLACE?' it read, the address of the place underneath. 

"It looks good," Peri agreed, though she would have perhaps used a better font. 

"Are you looking for a job?" her teeth were white- almost distractingly so, and they gleamed, even as the sun began to set. She looked at Peridot with fascination. "'Cause," she jerked her head towards the poster. "We're hiring."

"You're hiring," Peri repeated. She stared at the poster, then at the woman. "Well... it's not a very  _informative_ poster."

The woman laughed abruptly, and Peri's face turned a pleasant tomato red. "That's fair," she grinned, bearing those white teeth. "Well, if you show up tonight at 8, you can get some more details. The Fabled Lady'll give you the rundown of the job.. and you can say 'yea' or 'nay', I guess," she shrugged, indifferently. "Though I'd like to see you around. You've got a nice facial shape."

Peridot blinked at the excessively specific compliment, though she was pleased the woman was complimenting her at all. Having a nice facial shape had to mean a lot, especially coming from this woman, who had perhaps the nicest facial shape Peridot had ever seen. "You, uh— you don't hear that one every day. Thank you, though." 

"Don't thank me, you do," she shrugged. "Are you even a little interested in coming?"

"I guess I am," Peridot said. "I mean, I don't have anything else to do." 

It was weird, sure. 'Unconventional' was on the freaking poster. She was bound to be out of her comfort zone, but that's what she'd wanted. And well, Peridot thinks. _She could use the extra cash._

 


	2. ii. the lady made of gold

Peridot wished she had someone in her apartment to say— 'hey, I'm heading out!' to, but there was nobody to say the words to. She waved goodbye to her bookshelf, sighing heavily. Tonight was the night things changed. The woman had given Peridot a smaller version of the flier to take home with her, and Peridot was using her phone to find the location. 

She came to a stop in front of a rundown looking building. Peri looked up at it, at the crumbling and decaying rock, and how one wall of the building was actively  _sinking in_. "This building is  _not_ up to code.." she whispered.

Old Peridot would turn around. She'd turn around, retreat to safety, retreat to half-eaten bowls of ramen, and dark bedrooms, and homework. But New Peridot-  _this_ Peridot, she marched up to the rusting doorknob, and she held it (albeit gingerly), and she twisted it to the side. It was dark inside— completely dark.  _Oh no_ , Peridot thought.  _I've gotten myself into something a dangerous situation.._

It was all that adrenaline that had done it, her endless pursuit for something more than what she had. She'd forgotten basic rules, like, you don't investigate random and vague job interviews, and you don't enter buildings that could cave in on you at any second. It would seem that being daring wasn't her strong suit. She moved to turn back, and then the lights turned on.

"Good. You're on time."

Peridot startled, whirling back around to stare face to face with a woman. She sat in a tall, golden chair, in front of an old wooden table. In front of the table,  Her eyes, too, were pools of molten gold, but they did not spark playfully like the woman with the fliers had. They swirled, pulling Peridot ever closer. Peridot moved towards the chair in front of the desk, feeling like she was in a trance. She couldn't take her eyes off of her, just staring. "Is this...," she said, slowly. "The job? The .... unconventional job?"

She gave a musical laugh. Peridot took in her dark skin, her full lips, her fishnets and her golden high heels. She was at an impressive height, 5'11" at the least. She tilted her head down before speaking in a clear and authoritative voice. "Unconventional isn't the word I'd use...," she looked thoughtful, fingers drumming against the arm of her chair. "It suggests this is a quirky job... offbeat, if you will. It's no odd job, Peridot."

A shiver ran down Peridot's spine at the other woman's pronunciation of her name— she didn't remember telling her what it was, but...

The woman stirred a cup of tea. Peridot's gaze dropped to her hand, twirling the small spoon around, lazily. Her nails were long, and ended in sharp points. They were covered in gold, glossy polish, the shimmer in the polish seemed to dance, mocking her. 

Peridot waited for her to say something else; she didn't. "Um.. if I may, who are— you, and what is this job, then?"

"I have many names," she said, smiling a bit. "But sleep now."

And Peridot slumped forward, and everything went black. 


	3. iii. caged canary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello allll !! <33
> 
> so, i have had lots of trouble in the past with being consistent when it comes to fanfictions. i feel a lot of pressure to make chapters really long and it puts a damper on my motivation and creativity, usually leading me to the point i stop updating the fanfiction altogether.
> 
> i really would like to finish a project for once !! that's something that's super important to me, so chapters might be super duper short, but they'll be frequent and my updating won't be super sporadic. thank you for understanding !!

She awoke in a cage.

Her cheek was cold, and she raised her head, dizzy and throbbing with confusion. She could something grey, stone-like, and awfully blurry— cement. Her glasses were gone. "What..." 

She'd made a horrible mistake, and all in the pursuit of something greater. There were those made for excitement, and those made for the mundane, and she couldn't fight it. She was who she was. Her heart sank. Here she was. Alone, defeated. 

Uninteresting. 

She fell asleep.

* * *

She awoke to the sound of high heels tapping against the floor. The darkskinned woman stopped outside of her cell, crouching. "Hi, Peridot," she said. "How are you?"

"Who are you?" Peridot demanded, baring her teeth. "Why the hell did you lock me up? Let me out of here?"

"Well, you got the job is all," the woman seemed surprised. "I thought you'd be happy."

"Happy— you've literally got me locked up in a _cage!_ Anyway," Peridot said. "What the job, and how much do I get paid?"

"Oh, god," a sigh. "I'm not good with all of that explanation," she frowned a bit. "But I _can_ tell you that you'll get paid in exposure."

Peridot frowned.

* * *

She left Peridot to a few more hours of silence. Peridot startled when those high heels came back, tippity-tapping. A slender hand reached through the bars and handed Peridot her glasses.

Peri wiped them on her shirt, and then slid them onto her face, staring. "Are you the— the—" she struggled to recall the name, then looked up. "The Fabled Lady?"

"Maybe I am," a shrug. "Maybe I'm not." 

Those whirlpool eyes bored holes into Peridot.

"So what am I supposed to be doing? I can't exactly get paid in exposure. I want to be a—"

"Your old life matters little," said the golden lady. "You're something else now."

"What—" Peridot's heart hammered. She recoiled from the bars, moving backwards until her back pressed against the gold bars on the other side of the cage. "Are you going to keep me here forever? What's going to happen to me? Am I—"

"Enough questions," and Peridot found herself going silent. "You desire something more from your life. From  _yourself_ ," the golden lady said this calmly. She took out a cigarette and lit it. Peridot stared at her full lips— glossy, crimson. She swallowed. "We're giving it to you, Peridot."

"You've imprisoned me and you won't answer any of my questions! Sorry if I'm assuming the worst!"

The woman took a finger and inserted into a lock. She turned it, and the cage opened. Peri could hardly process this, already running. She turned a corridor, her heart pounding. She had to find the exit.

She had to get out of here. 

Something was wrong, she could sense that— there was no sound of high heels, no indication that the golden lady felt inclined to follow her at all.

Still.

* * *

She ran past the interview room, and her heart soared— for that door, the crumbling one, was the exit. She blinked and ran faster— there stood the golden lady, in front of the door. She 'tsk'd. Peridot screeched to a stop, her heart plummeting.

 _"Please!_ What do you want with me?" Peridot yelled.

"Inside voice." 

"Why won't you let me  _leave?!"_

"Inside voice."

"What do you want?" Peridot whispered.

"I was just about to explain," she said this impatiently, like Peridot had just wasted a lot of her time.

"Well—"

"Speak no more," the golden lady said. "Only follow."

* * *

Nervously, Peridot followed her down the halls.

"Well— how'd you get from where we were to where I was? I didn't hear—"

"Speak no more. Only follow," the lady's voice was quiet, but firm. 

Peridot closed her mouth, then opened it again.

The woman turned, looking down at Peridot slightly. Peridot stared up at those tall cheekbones— every one of her features were sharp, with a sudden sort of softness where you least expected it. She was startlingly gorgeous, intimidatingly beautiful. She oozed glamour. And so Peridot quieted.

* * *

 "Peridot, I want to teach you."

"Teach me what?"

"The extraordinary."

And as she said it, she smiled. 

 


End file.
